Mogens Hallas

Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Highlands and the Giant Tortoises

Landing: DryVideo from Santa Cruz Highlands Animals: Galapagos TortoiseAfter lunchwe again wentfor a panga tripintoSantaCruz.A 30 minutesbus ridebrougt us up tothe highlands, to meetthe giant tortoises in their natural
environment.It's interesting tosee the difference betweenvegitationenfromthe youngerislands to the west (approximately1 million years old)to SantaCruz at the eastern part of Galapagoswhichis 5 to6 millionyears older. Here waslushvegitationandlarge trees.We droveabout 20 kminto the countrywithagriculture, banana plants andcoffee plantations. In this highlyfertileareas the gianttortoises(elephant turtles) lives.We stopped at ahaciendaandwent for a walkthrough the terrainand there

were lots ofbig tortoises -interesting to seetheseapproximately100 to 200kgheavy animals. After a few hours in the highland we drove back toSantaCruzand the ship.In the evening there werethe guidesandthe captain'sfarewellreception followed by dinner(we got Galapagoslobster)-and after dinnera glass 'farewellwine' in the discovery lounge. Then down intoour cabinto packsuitcaseswhichwereplacedoutside the door before we went to bed.The Highlands of Santa
Cruz offer an exuberant vegetation.
Large populations of Giant Tortoises are found here. Wild Tortoises roam
free crashing through the mist covered guayabillo, pega pega, and
grasses of the humid zone.

Galapagos tortoise is the world's largest land-dwelling turtle. The largest turtles come from the island of Santa Cruz and has a shield with a length of up to 1.3 meters. On the other islands the turtles are a bit less.The big turtles can weigh more than 200 kg .The shield vary not only in size but also in shape. On
some islands, turtles shield semicircular, while the other almost in
the shape of a saddle , it's completely flat in the middle and curves
sharply upward in front.The shell shape is closely related to the places, the turtle lives. If there is plenty of grass that turtles can easily grab the turtles are dome-shelled. But if there is no grass or other low vegetation , the turtle neck stretch up high to grab cactus and shrub leaves. Therefore, these turtles shield shaped like a saddle where the shield front arches upward. It provides plenty of room for the turtle can stretch the neck up high for food. Another example of an animal adapts according to the diet.